Optimal Being

Summary:   New research delves into how valence weighting bias—people’s tendency to prioritize negative or positive attitudes—plays a crucial role in procrastination. By studying individuals’ responses to tasks like tax filing and academic research participation, the researchers found a strong link between a negative-leaning attitude and the tendency to delay tasks. Additionally, interventions that balanced participants’ valence weighting bias showed promise in reducing procrastination, suggesting that this psychological bias might be a key target for improving decision-making and task completion. This insight opens new avenues for addressing procrastination by adjusting how individuals weigh positive and negative signals when faced with decisions. Key Facts: Valence Weighting Bias and Procrastination : Individuals with a stronger negative bias are more likely to procrastinate, delaying tasks such as tax filing and academic participation. Intervention Shows Promise : Manipulating t...

Summary :  A novel study explores how Parkinson’s disease patients, particularly those with impulse control disorders (ICD) induced by dopaminergic medications, process the outcomes of risky decisions. The study, involving 30 participants, utilized a computer-based task to compare the decision-making behaviors of patients with and without ICD, revealing that those with ICD exhibit a diminished response to the consequences of their actions, a pattern that holds true regardless of medication status. This research not only sheds light on the nuanced effects of Parkinson’s treatment on behavior but also suggests broader implications for understanding the psychological impacts of dopaminergic drugs and potentially addictive substances on decision-making and risk perception. Key Facts: Dopaminergic Medications and ICD : Parkinson’s disease patients on these medications can develop impulse control disorders, leading to risky behaviors. Differential Processing of Risk : Patients with ICD e...

Summary:  Researchers have found that targeted electrical stimulation of the brain can temporarily increase a person’s hypnotizability, potentially allowing more individuals to benefit from hypnosis-based therapies for pain relief and other conditions. In a study involving participants with fibromyalgia, electrical stimulation delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex boosted hypnotizability for about an hour. The effect was achieved in less than two minutes of stimulation and was statistically significant. The findings offer a novel approach to altering stable traits and could have broader implications for enhancing responses to psychotherapy. Key Facts: Hypnotizability is a stable trait in adults, much like personality and IQ, and can influence the effectiveness of hypnosis-based therapies. Transcranial magnetic stimulation delivered targeted electrical pulses to the brain, increasing hypnotizability for a short duration. This research has potential applications in pai...

There are two types of happiness, hedonic and eudaimonic.  While both support life satisfaction, research shows they serve unique purposes and are expressed in different brain regions.  Eudaimonic happiness also appears to be more sustainable and seems to cultivate certain health benefits. T here’s a common perception that entrepreneurs and small business owners are overworked and stressed out. Both of those things can be true on occasion. At the same time, 94% of small business owners  say they are happy with their lives , and 81% attribute this happiness to their entrepreneurship. The former value easily tops employees’ self-reported happiness. In a  2012 survey of 11,000 graduates of the Wharton MBA  program, respondents running their own businesses ranked themselves the most content. “Entrepreneurship” even dominated “income” as a predictor of happiness. The reason for this may be that entrepreneurship stokes a type of happiness called “eudaimonic happiness....

We each have the same 24 hours in the day. How will you spend yours? We each have the same 24 hours available to us. What we do with those hours varies by culture and gender, but we each have at least a few hours to spend in leisure.  The 5-hour rule asks us to devote at least one hour a day to learning, experimenting, and reflecting. It's a trick used by the richest and most successful people in the world.   Here are three easy steps to start your own 5-hour rule. The anatomy of a day There are 24 hours in a day (or 1,440 minutes, if you really like to count your life away). The average person sleeps around eight hours (with  the Dutch  sleeping the most and the Singaporeans the least). That leaves 16 waking hours left to spend (I’m afraid those “learn while you’re sleeping” tapes  aren’t likely to work ). We need to subtract the seven to eight hours a day during which most people work, though those sleepy  Dutch work a bit less . So, we’re down to nine re...